![\"J-Cocker-Mid-Ohio\"](\"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/gallery\/posts-alms\/J-Cocker-Mid-Ohio.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCocker Makes A Deal And Takes Mid-Ohio Pole For Drayson. Sixth driver to claim overall FQ in as many 2010 races.<\/p>\n
Ask and ye shall receive. The old saying held true for Drayson Racing\u2019s Jonny Cocker, who parlayed a clean windscreen into his first overall pole position in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n. The young English driver turned a lap of 1:10.034 (116.069 mph) Friday in qualifying for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge.<\/p>\n
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In doing so, Cocker became the sixth driver to qualify on pole position in as many races this year. He will drive Drayson\u2019s Lola B09\/60-Judd with team owner Paul Drayson. All it took was a deal between Cocker and engineer Graham Moore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked my engineer very nicely for a clean screen for qualifying and he said he would remove the tear-off if I got pole,\u201d Cocker explained. \u201cSo I got what I wanted and so did he!\u201d<\/p>\n
Cocker made extra-good on his end of the bargain with the three fastest qualifying laps. He was 0.932 seconds quicker than Chris Dyson in Dyson Racing\u2019s Mazda-powered Lola coupe that he will share with Guy Smith. Patr\u00f3n Highcroft Racing\u2019s Simon Pagenaud \u2013 the overall winner last year at Mid-Ohio with Gil de Ferran \u2013 qualified third Friday at 1:11.360. He will split time in the team\u2019s HPD ARX-01c with championship co-leader David Brabham.<\/p>\n
The Drayson Lola-Judd has led significant portions of the last two races \u2013 Utah and Lime Rock \u2013 in its first full season of competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been plain to see that Drayson Racing has been making big improvements every time out,\u201d Cocker said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had our issues throughout the year but have been consistently fast. We were fastest in both practices and quickest in qualifying is a fantastic result. I\u2019d like to take a little bit of credit myself! Just kidding but we have made some adjustments and it\u2019s showing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now the trick will be managing the traffic in Saturday\u2019s race that will feature the largest grid for a Series race at Mid-Ohio: 33 cars. Cocker and Drayson raced at Mid-Ohio two years ago in an Aston Martin GT2 car, and that gives some valuable and additional insight into what the slower cars may do when the LMPs come flying toward them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to work together with the other classes,\u201d he said. \u201cI have experience in the GT class and can appreciate what the GT cars are facing. You need to push but at the same time be safe every lap. There are a lot of cars in the championship and it\u2019s a bit tight in pitlane. We found that out at Long Beach. Certainly that aspect is something we are aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Level 5 Motorsports\u2019 Christophe Bouchut took his third LMP Challenge pole of the season and second consecutive. His lap of 1:15.906 (107.090 mph) in the ORECA FLM09 that he will drive with team owner Scott Tucker was just enough to squeeze past PR1\/Mathiasen Motorsports\u2019 Luis Diaz.<\/p>\n
Bouchut was 0.235 seconds better than last year\u2019s LMP2 race-winner in a session that saw the top four cars swap the fastest lap 10 times in 20 minutes. Diaz\u2019s best lap was a 1:16.141 (106.760 mph) pass in the car that he will share with Ricardo Gonzalez. The duo is making its first start in the class.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a nice feeling again to be on pole position,\u201d Bouchut said. The car is running very well today and thanks to Level 5 for the hard work. After what happened at Lime Rock, I have to come back with a winning attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened\u201d was a crash during the race-day warmup that cracked the ORECA\u2019s tub, and Bouchut didn\u2019t make the race. He came back with vengeance Friday. It\u2019s a good thing because the top four cars were within 0.667 seconds of each other. Intersport Racing\u2019s Kyle Marcelli qualified third in class at 1:16.681 (106.180 mph). He will drive with Brian Wong.<\/p>\n
As will be the case with the faster LMP cars, the LMPC field also will have to manage the massive amounts of traffic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe traffic in the US is very hard to predict,\u201d the former Le Mans 24 Hours winner said. \u201cI\u2019ve driven in many different classes and know that is very hard for everyone. It\u2019s very difficult for us to overtake and that is a challenge at each circuit. It\u2019s important not to make mistakes when you try to overtake.\u201d<\/p>\n
In GT, Toni Vilander nabbed his second career Series pole position with a 1:19.682 to lead a Risi Competizione sweep of the class front row. The Finnish star, driving one of the red Ferrari F430 GTs with Giancarlo Fisichella, was just 0.077 seconds quicker than Gianmaria Bruni in the sister Ferrari. Bruni will drive with Jaime Melo.<\/p>\n
Vilander\u2019s first pole in the Series came at Lime Rock in 2006. This is his first race at Mid-Ohio.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t sure what to expect here because it is completely new to me,\u201d Vilander said. \u201cWe are relying on Risi\u2019s experience with Jaime and Gimmi. We had their data and it helped in qualifying. It\u2019s going to be a big battle with the traffic with some yellows I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corvette Racing\u2019s Oliver Gavin qualified third in class with a 1:20.019 lap. He will drive the first of the team\u2019s two Corvette C6.Rs with Olivier Beretta. Corvette debuted the GT2 version of the C6.R a year ago at Mid-Ohio.<\/p>\n
As has been the case all year, the spread in the class is nearly microscopic. The top eight cars were within 0.930 seconds of each other. The group consisted of four manufacturers and five entrants. So it\u2019s even more amazing that Vilander was on top of the timing page in GT. Staying there throughout the race will be more difficult given the traffic and four classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started the weekend with similar setups on both cars, then Giancarlo and I would take turns making small changes to the setup,\u201d Vilander said. \u201cFrom then you can compare those to previous race data. Having the other car with experience is a tremendous advantage. We can overtake the slower cars at Turn 1 and Turn 2 but after that it is very difficult. So you have to be patient. Traffic in pitlane is another area where I don\u2019t have much experience. Races can be decided in the pits too. You have to be smart everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Black Swan Racing\u2019s Jeroen Bleekemolen qualified on the GT Challenge pole for the fourth consecutive race with a lap of 1:24.954 (95.685 mph) in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry that he will drive with team owner Tim Pappas. The pairing won at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Utah before finishing second two weeks ago at Lime Rock Park.<\/p>\n
They stand third in the class championship, trailing TRG\u2019s Andy Lally and Henri Richard by 11 points. Class winners receive 20 points this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe missed the first race, and the second race we were still fighting it a bit,\u201d said Bleekemolen, a two-time champion of the Porsche Supercup series and LMP2 winner for Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours. \u201cWe were on pole at Long Beach but had it taken away but now we\u2019re on it. When I go out, the balance of the car is already there and we only have to make small changes. This is a very nice track, and people said it was going to be one of the very best road courses we have and I agree. We will be overtaken a lot so it stands to be a very busy day tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bleekemolen was 0.306 seconds quicker than Bryce Miller for ORBIT Racing. The young American is driving with Luke Hines; the Black Swan and ORBIT entries have been neck-and-neck in every session so far this week.<\/p>\n
James Sofronas qualified third for GMG Racing in the entry he will share with Bret Curtis. His best lap was a 1:25.729 (94.820 mph), just 0.775 seconds behind Bleekemolen.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that is nice here is that we can change shocks and springs more than you could do in Supercup in Europe,\u201d Bleekemolen said. \u201cIt\u2019s quite different to jump from Supercup to here. You can work much more on the car and that is what we have done here. You can make adjustments and improve and improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge \u2013 Round 6 of the 2010 championship \u2013 is set for 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 7. Live race and video will be streamed online at americanlemans.com \u2013 race coverage will start at 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche \u2013 a production of Radio Show Limited \u2013 as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. The race will be broadcast at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 15 on CBS Sports. Visit the Series\u2019 schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio<\/strong><\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s Lineup<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Paul Drayson, London, GB (GB); Jonny Cocker, Guisborough, GB (GB); Lola B09 60\/Judd (LMP), 1:10.034, 116.069<\/p>\n 2. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY (US); Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire (GB); Lola B09 86\/Mazda (LMP), 1:10.966, 114.545<\/p>\n 3. David Brabham, Maidenhead, GB (GB); Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon, FR (FR); HPD ARX-01c (LMP), 1:11.360, 113.913<\/p>\n 4. Jon Field, Dublin, OH (US); Clint Field, Dublin, OH (US); Lola B06\/10 AER (LMP), 1:14.008, 109.837<\/p>\n 5. Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS (US); Christophe Bouchut, France (FR); Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:15.906, 107.090<\/p>\n 6. Ricardo Gonzalez, Monterrey (MX); Luis Diaz, Mexico City (MX); Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:16.141, 106.760<\/p>\n 7. Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, ON (CA); Brian Wong, Newport Beach, CA (US); Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:16.557, 106.180<\/p>\n 8. Elton Julian, Santa Monica, CA (Spa); Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT (US); Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:16.573, 106.158<\/p>\n 9. Christian Zugel, Holmdel, NJ (US); Frankie Montecalvo, Highlands, NJ (US); Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:17.973, 104.251<\/p>\n 10. Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS (US); Andy Wallace, England (ENG); Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:18.339, 103.764<\/p>\n 11. Andrew Prendeville, Chatham, NJ (USA); Chris Buncombe, London, UK (Eng); Radical SR9\/IES (LMP), 1:19.351, 102.441<\/p>\n 12. Giancarlo Fisichella , Rome (IT); Toni Vilander, Kankaanpaa (FIN); Ferrari 430 GT (GT), 1:19.682, 102.016<\/p>\n 13. Jaime Melo, Milan, IT (BR); Gianmaria Bruni, Rome, IT (Ita); Ferrari 430 GT (GT), 1:19.759, 101.917<\/p>\n 14. Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo, Monaco (MC); Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings, GB (GB); Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (GT), 1:20.019, 101.586<\/p>\n 15. Jan Magnussen, Roskilde, DK (DK); Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA (US); Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (GT), 1:20.189, 101.371<\/p>\n 16. Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo, Monaco (DE); Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA (US); BMW E92 M3 (GT), 1:20.267, 101.272<\/p>\n 17. Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV (US); Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, FL (US); Ferrari 430 GT (GT), 1:20.498, 100.981<\/p>\n 18. Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA (US); Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA (US); BMW E92 M3 (GT), 1:20.548, 100.919<\/p>\n 19. Joerg Bergmeister, Langenfield, DE (DE); Patrick Long, Bellaire, FL (US); Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:20.612, 100.839<\/p>\n 20. Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL (US); Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA (US); Ferrari 430 GT (GT), 1:20.884, 100.499<\/p>\n 21. David Robertson, Ray, MI (US); David Murry, Atlanta, GA (US); Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI (US); Doran Design Ford GT (GT), 1:21.771, 99.409<\/p>\n 22. Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA (US); Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen, DE (DE); Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:21.805, 99.368<\/p>\n 23. Marc Goossens, Huntersville, NC (Bel); Ryan Dalziel, Orlando, FL (SCO); Jaguar XKRS (GT), 1:22.125, 98.981<\/p>\n 24. Patrick Pilet, Le Chesnay (FR); Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA (US); Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:24.848, 95.804<\/p>\n 25. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA (US); Jeroen Bleekemolen, Monte Carlo, Monaco (Net); Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:24.954, 95.685<\/p>\n 26. Bryce Miller, Summit, NJ (US); Luke Hines, Essex, UK (UK); Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:25.260, 95.341<\/p>\n 27. Bret Curtis, Valencia, CA (US); James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA (USA); Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:25.729, 94.820<\/p>\n 28. Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL (US); Jerry Vento, West Palm Beach, FL (US); Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:26.105, 94.406<\/p>\n 29. Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT (US); Romeo Kapudija, Lincolnwood, IL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:27.059, 93.371<\/p>\n 30. Robert Rodriguez, Zephyr Cove, NY (USA); Galen Bieker, Burbank, CA (US); Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:27.291, 93.123<\/p>\n 31. Loren Beggs, Montclair, CA (US); Doug Baron, Pacific Palisades, CA (US); Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:28.267, 92.093<\/p>\n 32. Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA (US); Tomy Drissi, Los Angeles, CA (US); Lola B06 10\/AER (LMP), No Time<\/p>\n 33. Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA (FR); Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA (USA); Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), No Time.<\/p>\n \u00a9 RIF | ALMS<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cocker Makes A Deal And Takes Mid-Ohio Pole For Drayson. Sixth driver to claim overall FQ in as many 2010 races. Ask and ye shall receive. The old saying held true for Drayson Racing\u2019s Jonny Cocker, who parlayed a clean windscreen into his first overall pole position in the American Le Mans Series presented by …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[9],"tags":[5264,5334,5333,5288,5363,157,361,522,615,5357,206,160,5281,2072,1750],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7601"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7601"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7603,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7601\/revisions\/7603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}